Artists and Presenters
Vicki Couzens
Vicki is Gunditjmara from the Western Districts of Victoria. She acknowledges her Ancestors and Elders who guide her work. Dr Couzens has worked in Aboriginal community affairs for almost 45+ years. Her contributions in the reclamation, regeneration and revitalisation of cultural knowledge and practice extend across the ‘arts and creative cultural expression’ spectrum including language revitalisation, ceremony, community arts, public art, visual and performing arts, and writing. She is a Senior Knowledge Custodian for Possum Skin Cloak Story and Language Reclamation and Revival in her Keerray Woorroong Mother Tongue.
In a special presentation, Vicki will showcase a Possum Skin Cloak and it’s significance in her language reclamation work.
MC Kate Robinson
Kate is an Iranian/Australian, podcaster and multi-disciplinary artist. Based in Naarm/Melbourne, Kate’s practice includes painting, colourful craft and murals. For Kate, art is a place to delve into her own family’s history, where stories are woven from fragments of memories, gossip between sisters and filled with sparkles.
Kate co-creates the podcast, Being Biracial, and also contributes to the Find and Tell podcast. She was the inaugural Feminist in Residence at Queen Victoria Women’s Centre, serves on the boards of Next Wave and QVWC Trust, and is a member of the Arts West Committee.
Australian Vietnamese Arts & Culture
We are a vibrant community dedicated to celebrating and sharing the rich tapestry of Vietnamese arts and culture. Our group is a gathering of passionate individuals united by a love for the arts and a commitment to building a supportive, inclusive community.
More than just a collection of talents, we are a dynamic collective that thrives on collaboration, encouragement, and the celebration of cultural diversity. Through various artistic expressions, festivals, and cultural events, we aim to create a sense of belonging and provide a platform for everyone to contribute their unique voice to our shared creative journey.
The Talking Drums
Nii Otu Laryea and Kofi Nortey are master musicians from Ghana, West Africa. They grew up in Accra, the capital of Ghana, and their entire life has been immersed in traditional culture playing traditional rhythms on a variety of drums. Leading West African and Afro Cuban drummer, Ray Pereira, complete the trio.
Nii and Kofi will perform a program that includes the Fontonfrom Drums where two sets of drums “ talk” to each other using traditional language phrases. The lead Atumpan drum talks and the Obuonu drums respond.
Red Pocket Press
Red Pocket Press celebrates Queer Lunar New Year through zines, food and gatherings. Conceived in 2019, in the Year of the Pig, we’ve hosted annual gatherings and have produced zines and other printed matter. We are here to share stories of our queer and trans Asian histories, ancestry and family in the diaspora.
The Press will have a stall on the day with our latest Dragon zine and poster for sale as well as other queer Asian printed matter. We will also be showcasing a short presentation on queer Asian language-making over the last 5 years in our publishing project.
Jollity Bollywood
Jollity means celebration and they celebrate through dance! They are specialised in various Indian dance forms, including Bollywood, Bolly Hop, Folk and Bharatnatyam. Their team of experienced and trained facilitators run sessions in Docklands and Werribee for kids and adults. They promote Indian arts and culture through their dance, and they live by one motto – “You bring yourselves to them and they bring dance to you.”
Tess Do
Tess is a Senior Lecturer in French Studies at the University of Melbourne. Her research focuses on postcolonial Indochina and questions of food, memory, and cultural identity in Francophone migrant literature. She is particularly interested Vietnamese diasporic narratives and has published on French writers of Vietnamese heritage. Her latest publications include the edited volume Linda Lê: In Memoriam (2023) and the translation of Jean Vanmai’s Chân Đăng The Tonkinese of Caledonia in the Colonial Era (2022).
Tess will present on “Frère Jacques,” a classic 18th-century French nursery rhyme that is one of the most recognizable children’s songs worldwide, successfully transcending linguistic, cultural, and temporal boundaries. Beloved for its charming melody, it has been sung in over 60 languages, with variations that often alter the original lyrics. In this interactive presentation, the audience will be invited to participate in a sing-along of this popular tune in different languages as we explore the three Vietnamese versions of the song and reflect on the socio-historical contexts that may have influenced their lyrics.
Mito Elias
Mito, originally from the Cape Verde archipelago in West Africa, works in developing a visual language that draws inspiration from oral traditions and Creole storytelling. This unique methodology, which he designates as Mare Calamus, integrates wash, writing, and multimedia techniques. Since 1983, Mito has showcased his works in numerous venues globally, including the World Bank (USA) and the Afro-Brazilian Museum (Brazil). Since 2013, he has been based in Melbourne, working as a community arts educator in collaboration with various organizations through the sustainable art platform, Fandata Studio.
Mito will present Similitudes, a concept of language that explores the graphic resemblances between two languages that seemingly share no commonalities. Upon recognising certain visual similarities between Vietnamese and Cape Verde Creole, I resolved to craft dada-poems that merge these two languages, culminating in a language imbued with affection.
Amharic Saturday School
The school formed recently began teaching students at Sunshine Library after its discontinuation from the Victorian School of Languages program. Students are taught by Tenenet Taye through the Amharic alphabet, writing, song and activities. For the festival students will present two songs.
Cherry Crescent Community
We are parents and children from the Cherry Crescent Preschool (Braybrook) community interested in multilingualism, Vietnamese language and culture. Since 2023, the preschool has offered a Vietnamese bilingual program. 2023 also saw the community co-author a book, Crocodile và Unicorn Đi Chơi, exploring the multilingual worlds of the community.
Multilingual Storytellers
We are four artists from diverse cultural backgrounds with a shared belief in the transformative power of stories. We connect and dream of sharing the love of language and story. Rohini Vij, is a storyteller, voice artist and educator focused on building life skills through stories. Anna Manuel, a bilingual storyteller and reading teacher, provides libraries and schools with meaningful incursions and professional trainings. Dee Palanisamy draws on her 13 years in Speech and Drama to deliver captivating performances and arts education. Priti Modyiyer, a performance storyteller and empowerment coach, uses storytelling to inspire growth and leadership in individuals and organisations.
Join us for a fun storytelling event with stories, songs and interactive tales in Hindi, Tagalog, Tamil, and English. Get ready to join in as we bring the magic of our cultures to life, weaving tales in both English and our own languages. Everyone is welcome to enjoy and take part in this special storytelling experience celebrating the wonderful world of words.
Sonia Zymantas
Sonia is a socially engaged craft maker from Melbourne drawing on her Greek heritage to highlight the importance of diverse languages in community spaces.
Sonia will facilitate Workshop 2 – Flag Making: The Language of Place.
Viet-My Bui
Viet-My is a Vietnamese artist and illustrator, based in Naarm. With a focus on movement, organic lines and character-driven imagery, her work captures the fantastical and the feminine in dreamscape hues.
Viet-My will facilitate Worshop 1 – Create & Explore: An Interactive Adventure with Crocodile và Unicorn.
Julie Choi
Julie is Associate Professor in Education (Additional Languages) in the Faculty of Education. She is co-editor of the books Language and Culture: Reflective Narratives and the Emergence of Identity, Plurilingualism in Teaching and Learning: Complexities across Contexts, and author of Creating a Multivocal Self: Autoethnography as Method. Julie’s current teaching and research interests focus on community and arts-rich language learning, creativity and criticality in language and literacy pedagogies using multilingual, multimodal, multimedia, and digital technologies. The festival will feature the launch of her book Kimchi is for Everyone.
Julie: “In Kimchi is for Everyone, I share my auntie’s recipe of kimchi to reclaim my identity as someone who was born and has lived outside of South Korea all my life. I explore how our identities are ever evolving, shaped by the tides of change and experience. It’s a celebration of storytelling, of continuous discovery, and of finding your place in a world that too often tries to define you. Get ready to gain not just a recipe, but a deeper appreciation for the complexities of culture, language, and self.”
Daniele Poidomani
Daniele will present his interactive project on untranslatable words, For Want of a Better Word. Throughout the day, Daniele will collect words and stories from audience members that will culminate in a collective sharing.
Hazel Lekkas
First-time author of a children’s book, The Little Hardware Shop, Hazel grew up in the western suburbs of Melbourne, born to Greek migrants. Hazel speaks Greek and studied a Bachelor of Speech Pathology at La Trobe University, going on to work in primary and secondary schools in and around the western suburbs. The Little Hardware Shop features 18 languages to pay homage to the residents of Sunshine West, and surrounding suburbs, where she grew up. Hazel regularly contributes to The Westsider, with a focus on celebrating the extraordinary stories and contributions of its ordinary community members. Chat with Hazel at her community stall alongside fellow bilingual author Amal Abou-Eid.
Tibetan Community Group
The Tibetan Saturday School and Tibetan Mothers Group will present dance performances.